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TO THE CLERGY AND LAITT 



DIOCESE OF NEW YORK. 



Beloved Brethren : » , . 

In a crisis so momentous as the present, in the affairs 
of this our beloved country, I make no apology for 
coming before you with a few earnest words. 

At a moment when these States have advanced to a 
position which commands the respectful attention of the 
whole civilized world ; when the nations of Europe, full 
of wonder and expectation, are contemplating our aston- 
ishing development, and watching the course of our ex- 
periment in government ; when our power, stretching 
from the one ocean to the other, sits secure, as no other 
people are secure, from fear of foreign invasion ; at a 
moment when the whole country is flushed with health 
and strength, and when a gracious Providence has vouch- 
safed to us a season of unexampled abundance, with no 
new element of strife in our system which was not equally 
present when this government of conciliation and compro- 
mise was first organized, at such a moment, our great 



political fabric is shaken by internal dissensions, by the 
conflict of sectional passions, and we, who might have 
been envied among tlie nations of the earth for our great- 
ness, no less than for our happiness, we seem to be pre- 
paring to cast madly away from us all the blessings of 
Providence, and to bring down upon ourselves dishonor 
and ruin by our own fratricidal violence. 

To the eye of the Christian Patriot, what a melancholy 
spectacle does the condition of this great country pre- 
sent ! Members of the same political family, children of 
confederated parents, who stood side by side in the 
struggle of the Revolution, now so intent upon crimina- 
tion and recrimination — now so passionately absorbed in 
the contemplation of one point of difference, so eager in 
contention about it, that they have lost sight of all that is 
excellent in each other's character, and have become inca- 
pable of doing justice to each other's feelings, principles 
and conduct ! Narrow and partial views have been put 
forth to work upon men's passions, exaggeration and 
misrepresentation have inflamed and alienated contend- 
ing sections, until men's hearts have been well nigh 
changed toward each other : hatred has taken the place 
of love, and too often, even, the senate chamber and the 
pulpit, forgetful of their high function, have been con- 
verted into fountains of bitter waters. 

Beloved Brethren : I know that to this sad statement 
there are great and honorable exceptions. I know that 
in the North, and believe also in the South, there are 
multitudes of noble men, of enlarged views and patriotic 



spirit, who cannot be induced to narroAv tlieir sympatliies 
to any one class or section, but who look upon the conn- 
try, and the whole country, as the one blood-bought 
heritage, in every part of which they have an interest 
and a pride, and to every part of which they owe equal 
and most important duties. I know, too, that the chiirch 
of our affections has been most honorably distinguished 
by her pacific and fraternal spirit, and by her entire 
exemption from all sectional disputes and divisions. It 
is this fact that encourages me to appeal to you in the 
present crisis. For every man that loves his country, 
and his whole country, for every man capable of rising 
above narrow views and local passions, and who has a 
soul magnanimous enough to do justice to those who 
differ from him, the hour is come for the performance of 
a great duty : — the duty of carrying out those principles 
of conciliation and compromise, on which this govern- 
ment w^as founded, and by adhering to which alone it 
can be maintained : — the duty of putting forth a patriotic 
influence, each in his own sphere, which shall be in favor 
of peace and charity, which shall tend to recall men's 
minds to the contemplation of obligations which they owe 
to their whole country, and which shall help to revive a 
disposition to do the same justice to other people's feel- 
ings, interests and characters, which we desire to have 
done to our own. 

It is in vain to ask, who has been most in ft\ult. It is 
a low and sordid thing to stop and inquire, who is to suf- 
fer most from the impending calamity. All will suffer. 



All have been in fault ; although it may be conceded 
that people, when rushing on under the influence of dif- 
ferent interests and different habits of thought, have come 
into violent collision from want of consideration, and from 
want of experience, in regard to the dangers of such a 
collision, and have been, by no means, deliberately and 
consciously guilt}^ of the wrong which might, at first 
view, seem to be imputable to them. 

But the time is come to pause in our headlong career ; 
to open our eyes to a wider survey of our relations and 
duties, and to ascend to a higher position, whence we 
may cast a look of equal and loving regard over the 
people and fortunes of all these States. 

We may say, in our pride and our resentment, that we, 
in our section, can do very well by ourselves. Other 
sections, under the same influences, may say the same 
miserable thing. But, say what we will, in our moment 
of passion, we all have need of each other. In sickness, 
each flies to the climate of the other for relief — and this 
is but a type of the marvelous way in which all our inte- 
rests and all our activities are interlaced, and made mutu- 
ally dependent upon each other. Besides, who can con- 
template the animosities sure to be engendered by rival 
organizations, without a feeling of horror? Who can 
look forward to the petty jealousies, the feuds, the hostile 
legislation, the impeded intercourse, social and commer- 
cial, the fratricidal wars likely to arise among a number 
of insignificant states, as contemptible for their pride and 
irritability as for their weakness, without a fervent prayer 



to Almighty God, that of His infinite mercy He would be 
pleased to spare this hitherto happy country such a dis- 
astrous and dishonorable future ! 

No ! my brethren. You will agree with me that what 
we need, what we desire, what we ardently pray for, is, 
that our glorious country may remain, as Providence has 
o-iven it to us — one and entire. Let us set our faces 
toward a work of conciliation. Let us encourage an 
earnest endeavor to find out some basis for a permanent 
settlement of existing questions, which shall be clear and 
satisfactory to reasonable minds in all parts of the coun- 
try. Let us hope, and let us pray, that our public men 
may be enabled, may be guided by an overruhng Provi- 
dence, to such a blessed consummation. That such an 
object is attainable, with God's blessing upon the hearty 
endeavors of our rulers and of our people, it would be 
alike um^easonable and impious to doubt. That it is 
possible to aiTange some great measure of guarantees 
and securities that will afford due protection to every 
section of the country, without demanding a sacrifice of 
principle from any, is a belief which no Christian patriot 
will surrender, until all shall have been lost in darkness 
and ruin. 

But such a work calls for kindness, and patience and 
conciliation in rulers and in people. It demands a mag- 
nanimous and patriotic spirit. It requhes that every 
state and every section look not only on its own things, 
but also on the things of others, and that it make a con- 
science of being as scrupulously careful of the feelings 



6 

and interests of other sections as of its own. And if 
there be any state or section in the Union, which can 
afford to go far in the way of conciliation — which should 
it be, but our own, which is preeminent in power, and 
which possesses within itself all the elements of prosperity 
and greatness. 

You will give me credit, beloved brethren, for speak- 
ing from a heart, which, knowing nothing of party 
passions or sectional jealousies, glows with zeal for the 
peace, the honor and the welfare of the whole country. 
And your generous minds will respond to your Bishop's 
voice. 

Let us fly to Him who can speak peace to the storm}?- 
passions of men. Let us humble ourselves before Al- 
mighty God. Let us discourage criminations, and recrimi- 
nations in regard to the past. Let us invoke a spirit of 
justice and moderation. Let us set continually before 
our minds, the unquestionable fact that there are people 
in every other section of the country as patriotic, as full 
of Christian feeling and principle, as are any among our- 
selves. Let us throw ourselves, with fresh eyes and 
fervent hearts, into all those prayers in our Liturgy which 
beg God's blessing upon our rulers and people ; which 
implore His guidance for our men in council ; which sup- 
plicate for unity, peace and concord ; which beseech 
deliverance for ourselves from envy, hatred, malice and 
all uncharitableness ; which send up a cry to God for 
His mercy upon us, as " vile earth and miserable sin- 
ners." If we look into the Litany, into the prayer for 



Congress, into the prayer for the President and all others 
in authorit}^, and into other portions of our wonderful 
Liturgy, we shall be struck at the number and depth of 
the expressions, whicli are applicable to our present 
needs, and we shall feel that in our Common Prayer 
we have abundant provision for all times and for all 
trials. God, most merciful, help us to enter into these 
fervent devotions with all our hearts. Give peace, 
Lord, in our time. Make a wa}^ for us to escape out of 
our unhappy divisions. Restore to our beloved country 
a spirit of unity and love ; and grant that this great 
nation may be a wise and understanding nation, exalted 
by righteousness, and preserved by a gracious Provi- 
dence to the end of time, to be the bulwark of liberty 
and true religion, and the home of the weary and heavy 
laden of all lands. 

Your affectionate friend and brother in Christ, 

HORATIO POTTER, 

Provisional Bishop of New York. 
New York, December 12, 1860. 



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